Mafnas, who was a guest speaker at the recent Saipan Rotary Club meeting, said the governor received a letter from the Pew Charitable Trusts with written details of the proposal for the national monument.
Pew asked the governor to support the proposal “without the government’s input or participation,” Mafnas said.
“The governor informed Pew that he will not support the national proposal at this time in a letter dated March 2008,” he said.
Jay Nelson, director of the Pew Charitable Trusts, made contacts with several federal agencies and officials, a public relations firm, residents and organizations, but did not include the CNMI government.
Mafnas said on March 20, 2008, Pew managed to arrange a presentation with the governor’s Strategic Economic and Development Council in the governor’s conference room on Capital Hill regarding the proposal to designate three Northern Islands as a national monument.
“We were not even allowed or given the opportunity to provide comments or participation up to the day of the presentation. In fact Nelson asked me to get the governor so we could watch the presentation,” Mafnas said.
He said he refused and instead requested for a copy of the presentation or proposal for review and comment.
“Nelson denied there was a written proposal available for the administration to review,” Mafnas said.
“We were surreptitiously prevented from participating in the process of the creation of the proposal while at the same time numerous organizations and outstanding individuals were contacted and asked to support Pew’s proposal,” he added.
Mafnas said there can be no division in the CNMI islands, and that it should remain inseparable.
“There is not a single reason good enough to justify giving up control or taking away ownership of our islands and oceans, for whatever noble purpose unless our people choose to do so,” he said.
The people of the CNMI should remain the stewards of their islands, he added.
“I wish to deny the obvious that giving away control of our islands and ocean is not in our best interest,” Mafnas said.
Pew proposes to establish a world-class marine park in the waters around the three northernmost Mariana islands — Asuncion, Maug and Uracus.
